English
English
English
No patient showed antibiotic effectiveness above 60 percent. Resistance levels ranging from 60 to 98 percent were observed across all cases, with some antibiotics showing complete failure.
Representational Image
New Delhi: Antibiotics, long considered the backbone of modern medical treatment, are rapidly losing their effectiveness, posing a serious threat to public health.
A major research study conducted by SMS Medical College and its five affiliated hospitals has revealed alarming levels of antibiotic resistance, making even routine infections potentially life-threatening.
The study, conducted on 9,776 patients, found that the effectiveness of commonly used antibiotics has declined by 57 to 100 percent. Researchers warned that the human body is increasingly developing resistance to these drugs, rendering them ineffective when they are most needed.
Key Findings of the Study
According to the report, no patient showed antibiotic effectiveness above 60 percent. Resistance levels ranging from 60 to 98 percent were observed across all cases, with some antibiotics showing complete failure.
The most commonly affected infections included:
These figures indicate a severe erosion in the effectiveness of even last-resort antibiotics.
Self-Medication a Major Cause
The report highlights rampant self-medication as a key driver of this crisis. Many people routinely take antibiotics for colds, coughs, and viral infections-conditions for which antibiotics are ineffective. As a result, these drugs fail when genuinely required for bacterial infections.
Rajni Sharma, specialist in the Microbiology Department at SMS Medical College, warned that children develop resistance particularly quickly when antibiotics are used unnecessarily for viral infections and allergies. She added that excessive antibiotic use following the COVID-19 pandemic has further worsened the situation.
Global Concern
According to a WHO-backed study published in The Lancet, 1.29 million deaths worldwide have already been attributed to antibiotic resistance. Health experts caution that without urgent intervention, even minor infections could become untreatable in the future.
Dr Deepak Maheshwari, Principal of SMS Medical College, said the findings of this large-scale study have been forwarded to authorities in Delhi. He emphasized that increasing public awareness about the responsible use of antibiotics will be a key priority going forward.
